Being Peace!

 

Lord, make us instruments of your Peace.  In a world all too prone to violence and revenge, we commit ourselves to the Gospel values of mercy, justice, compassion, and love.

We will seek daily to promote forgiveness and healing  in our hearts, our families, and our world. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; Where there is injury, let us cultivate peace.

Fear and distance prevent people from recognizing all as brothers and sisters; tensions lead to violence and mistrust; We will strive to honor the dignity that God places in each and every human person.

Grant that we may not seek to be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. Our failure to understand the other can create exclusion in all its negative forms – racism, marginalization of those who are poor, sick, the immigrant; it can also create situations of domination, occupation, oppression and war.

We pledge to seek the way of solidarity, to create hearts, homes, and communities where all people will experience inclusion, hospitality, and understanding.

For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned and in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Let us Pray:
Lord God, create in us:
-the Capacity to hear and understand the voices of those who suffer from
every form of violence, injustice, and dehumanization;

-the Openness to receive and honor people from other cultures, languages,
religious traditions, and geographical regions;

-the Creativity to explore new ways of communication and dialogue through
music, poetry, performing arts, and the mass media;

-the Audacity to undertake the building of communities of forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation.

To God who is above all and in all are the glory and the honor. Amen

(Source: by Chuck Faso, OFM)

Image: Dancing Francis, Viterbo University Campus

The Presence of the Presence . . .

 

 

Silent steps
By
Rabindranath Tagore

Have you not heard God’s silent steps?
God comes, comes, ever comes.

Every moment and every age,
Every day and every night
God comes, comes, ever comes.

Many a song I sung in many a mood of mind,
but all their notes have always proclaimed,
‘God comes, comes, ever comes.’

In the fragrant days of sunny
                       April through the forest path                          
God comes, comes, ever comes.

In the rainy gloom of July nights on the
thundering chariot of clouds
God comes, comes, ever comes.

In sorrow after sorrow
it is God’s steps that press upon my heart,
and it is the golden touch of God’s feet
that makes my joy to shine.

Love Lived . . .

 

“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and love, embracing both trial and joy.”     St. Therese of Lisieux (Feast Day – October lst)

Off the Page | Ep. 6 | Richard Rohr | Eager to Love

TRUE AUTHORITY . . .

 

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Readings: Nm 11:25-29 Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14 Jas 5:1-6 Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48   “Would that the Lord might bestow the Spirit on them all!” (Num 11:29)   Presidents of nations and other leaders with wide influence usually have a designated spokesperson, who makes sure that the leader’s message is conveyed accurately and consistently. The leader exercises a measure of control, ensuring that the spokesperson follows the script, and that no one who is unauthorized is given credence. That’s not necessarily the way it is in ministry, however. In both the first reading and in the gospel, individuals who are not authorized by Moses and by Jesus, respectively, exercise a ministry akin to that of these leaders without their prior approbation. Take Eldad and Medad; they had not gone out to the tent of meeting along with the other seventy, upon whom God bestowed a share of the Spirit that was upon Moses. Nonetheless, the Spirit came to rest upon them too; like the others, they began to speak prophetically in the camp. This was most distressing to Joshua, who insisted that they be stopped. The text does not elaborate on Joshua’s motives. Was he resentful because he had trained at Moses’s side from his youth and followed carefully all the directives, whereas these two appeared suddenly and began to minister with the others? Moses assures Joshua that the prophesying of Eldad and Medad in no way diminishes Moses’s own authority as prophet. In fact, it was Moses’s own complaint to God about his too heavy burden of leadership that prompted God to bestow the Spirit on others who could lighten the load. Moses exclaims his wish that all the people would prophesy in God’s Spirit. He recognizes that while not all are authorized to prophesy officially, all do have a measure of the prophetic gift to be shared. The community, moreover, under the guidance of the Spirit, has a responsibility to choose, prepare, and authorize its spokespersons. But even the best and most careful process can exclude some whose gifts do not elude the Spirit, who always blows where she will. A similar scene is played out in the gospel, where Jesus’s disciples are upset about an exorcist who is claiming Jesus’s authority as he casts out demons. Jesus insists that disciples stop trying to prevent the exorcist from exercising his ministry, even though he is not an official follower of Jesus. It is curious that in both instances, those who want to be officially recognized ministers are focused, sadly, on a perceived threat to their own authority, rather than on the recipients of the ministry. Joshua might have asked, What is the effect of the prophetic word spoken by the two who were not authorized? Is it unleashing God’s freeing love in the hearers? Likewise, the disciples might have asked, Was the other exorcist freeing people from tormenting forces that blocked their ability to love and be loved? A word of approval from the wise leaders, Moses and Jesus, served to reorient their followers toward the important matter of ensuring that the pressing needs of their people be addressed by whomever the Spirit empowered to do so. One way for leaders and ministers to learn to see from this kind of perspective is to reflect on the ministry they receive from others. Jesus holds up to his disciples the example of one who offers them a cup of water to drink. With this simple act the giver recognizes in the thirsty one a shared humanity and a common thirst, as a member of Christ’s body. Jesus also directs his disciples to reflect on the ministry they receive from others. When they know themselves as needy, they can learn, by accepting the gift of a cup of water, to shift their attention away from the prerogatives of credentialed ministry toward the neediness of those to whom the service is rendered.   These reflections are adapted from Barbara E. Reid, Abiding Word. Sunday Reflections for Year B. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2011. Pp. 108-109.

 

Placing our Nation in God's Hands . . .

 

 

A Prayer for Our Nation

May we as a nation be guided by the Divine
 to rediscover the sacred flame of our national heritage,
 which so many have given their lives to safeguard;

Let the wounds of separation and division be healed
 by opening our hearts to listen to the truth on all sides,
 allowing us to find a higher truth that includes all;

May we learn to honor and enjoy our diversity
 and differences as a people, even as we
 more deeply touch our fundamental unity;

May we, as a people, undergo a transformation
 that will draw forth individuals to lead our nation
 who embody courage, compassion, and a higher vision;

May our leaders inspire us, and we so inspire
 each other with our potential as individuals
 and as a nation, that a new spirit of forgiveness,
 caring, and honesty be born in our nation;

May we, as a united people, move with clear,
 directed purpose to take our place within
 the community of nations to help build
 a better future for all humankind;

May we as a nation rededicate ourselves
 to truly living as one nation, under God,
 indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And may God's Will be done for the United States,
 as we, the people, align with that Will.

— Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson in Prayers for Healing edited by Maggie Oman

A Prayer for the World and More!

 

 

A Prayer by Rabbi Harold Kushner – 2003

 

Let the rain come and wash away
the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds
held and nurtured over generations.

Let the rain wash away the memory
of the hurt, the neglect.
Then let the sun come out and
fill the sky with rainbows.

Let the warmth of the sun heal us
wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog so that
we can see each other clearly.
So that we can see beyond labels,
beyond accents, gender or skin color.

Let the warmth and brightness
of the sun melt our selfishness.
So that we can share the joys and
feel the sorrows of our neighbors.

And let the light of the sun
be so strong that we will see all
people as our neighbors.

Let the earth, nourished by rain,
bring forth flowers
to surround us with beauty.

And let the mountains teach our hearts
to reach upward to heaven.
Amen.
 

The prayer of the cup . . .

O God, to you I raise my whole being,

~ a vessel emptied of self.  Accept,

O God, this my emptiness, and so fill

me with yourself ~ Your light, your

love, your life ~ that these your

precious gifts may radiate through

 me and over-flow the chalice of my

 heart into the hearts of all with

whom I come in contact this day~

revealing unto them

the beauty of

your

joy

and

wholeness

and

the

serenity

of

your peace

which nothing can destroy.

ancient sufi prayer

Reflection on Sunday Scriptures. . .

 

The way of the wise. Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

 

Readings: Wis 2:12, 17-20 Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8 Jas 3:16—4:3 Mk 9:30-37   The way of the wise There seem to be contradictions in the messages found in today’s readings. James teaches that the way of righteousness leads to peace, while the author of Wisdom describes a conspiracy plotted against a righteous one. In the gospel, Jesus first informs his disciples that he will be the victim of just such a conspiracy, and then he subverts their standard for judging importance. What are we to make of this? Any wisdom tradition is based on some form of the theory of retribution: good or wise behavior brings forth success; wicked or foolish behavior yields misfortune. Wisdom teaching itself is a collection of maxims gleaned from experience, each providing a vignette exemplifying this theory. Though this tradition offers a high ideal, its teaching is not unrealistic. The sages knew that those who choose the way of righteousness might be confronted with obstacles that seem insurmountable. The reading from the Book of Wisdom describes such a situation. People who try to live lives of integrity are not always appreciated. In fact, they are often ridiculed and sometimes even persecuted. Their very lives can act as a rebuke of the lives of others, their goodness an accusation. There are people who seem to take delight in pushing decent individuals to their limits, trying to show that they are no better than the rest. If they cannot corrupt these good people, they try instead to get rid of them. The Letter of James describes several situations that we all know so well. Jealousy and selfishness do indeed spawn disorder as we witness in some many scandals of our day. We also know that desiring the land or natural resources of other nations often leads to war. If we are honest, we will admit that only when we learn to bridle our inordinate passions will we experience true wisdom that is “peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy.” The ideal that James offers is not beyond our reach. We have already tasted the kind of life he sketches. We have known happiness and satisfaction in our families and communities. We know from experience that certain options are set before us, and we have decided to choose the path leading to peace. Jesus is the ultimate example of the victimization referred to in the first reading. He was the righteous one par excellence. When those who opposed him were unable to undermine the success of his ministry, they plotted to get rid of him. He knew it, and yet he was not deterred. In this he became the model par excellence of how one should continue faithfully on the path of righteousness despite immense obstacles, leaving the outcome in God’s hands. We all try to fashion our lives and our world for ourselves and for our children so that the ideal presented by James might become a reality. But one does not have to live long to realize that the other scenario too often forces itself upon us. The people upon whom we relied seem to betray us; unbridled violence locks us in a state of terror; hatred and crime victimize whole populations. Goodness does not guarantee success and happiness, and shameless behavior sometimes seems to win out. When we are caught in the throes of such peril, we ourselves might question the value of clinging to our noble standards. Once again, a choice is set before us. Will we discover that our integrity is nothing but a veneer? Will we succumb to the temptations of the ‘low road?’ Or will our trust in God carry us through? Will we choose the ‘high road’ of loyal discipleship despite the cost that this may exact? The gospel reading ends on what appears to be a strange note. After Jesus reveals the tragic end that he faces, the disciples argue about their own status within the community. Hadn’t they been listening to him? In response to their quarreling, Jesus’ words turn their, and our, expectations upside down: the greatest becomes the least; the first becomes the last. He insists that it is in receiving society’s most vulnerable that we receive Jesus himself; and in receiving him, we receive God. This is the epitome of true wisdom. On second glance, the messages found within these readings are not contradictory after all. Wisdom urges us to choose the right path. Jesus gives us a glimpse of the character of that path, namely, embracing the vulnerable in our midst – the defenseless children, the despairing poor, the terrified mentally ill, the marginalized disabled, the refugees of war. The vulnerable are all around us. The world seems to say: ‘Get out of life what you can. Let others take care of themselves.’ The disciple of Jesus says: ‘How can I help?’ This is foolish in the eyes of some, and they may ridicule and even persecute those who follow this way. But it is the way of the wise, and the fruit of such righteousness is true peace. by Dianne Bergant, CSA

 

Hildegard, Mystic and More . . .

 

The soul is kissed by God in its innermost regions.

With interior yearning, grace and blessing are bestowed.

It is a yearning to take on God’s gentle yoke,

It is a yearning to give one’s self to God’s Way.

 The marvels of God are not brought forth from one’s self.

Rather, it is more like a chord, a sound that is played.

The tone does not come out of the chord itself, but rather,

through the touch of the Musician.  I am, of course,

the lyre and harp of God’s kindness!

-Hildegard of Bingen

(Mystic, Doctor of the Church, Abbess, prophet, preacher, musician and composer, poet and artist}

Feast of Hildegard . . .

 

Dare to declare

who you are. 

It isn’t far from

the shores of silence

to the boundaries of speech.

The road is not long

but the way is deep.

And you must not

only walk there.

You must be prepared

to leap.

 

Composer, Mystic: St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179)

 

Lest we forget . . .

 

https://ronrolheiser.com/dark-memory-3/

September 22, 2024: Carolyn A. Wright preaches for the 25th Sunday in Or...

A Splash of Autumn . . .

O sacred season of Autumn, be my teacher, for I wish to learn the virtue of contentment.  As I gaze upon your full-colored beauty, I sense all about you an at-homeness with your amber riches.

You are the season of retirement, of full barns and harvested fields. The cycle of growth has ceased, and the busy work of giving life is now completed. I sense in you no regrets; you've lived a full life.

I live in a society that is ever-restless, always eager for more mountains to climb, seeking happiness through more and more possessions.  As a child of my culture, I am seldom truly at peace with what I have.

Teach me to take stock of what I have given and received; may I know that it’s enough, that my striving can cease in the abundance of God’s grace.

May I know the contentment that allows the totality of my energies to come to full flower. May I know that like you I am rich beyond measure.

As you, O Autumn, take pleasure in your great bounty, let me also take delight in the abundance of the simple things of life which are the true source of joy. With golden glow of peaceful contentment may I truly appreciate this autumn day.

 (Ed Hays, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim)

Our Extravagant God!

Waken in Me a Sense of Joy
By Ted Loder

O extravagant God,
in this ripening, red-tinged autumn,
waken in me a sense of joy
    in just being alive,
joy for nothing in general
    except everything in particular;
joy in sun and rain
    mating with earth to birth a harvest;
joy in soft light
    through shyly disrobing trees;
joy in the acolyte moon
    setting halos around processing clouds;
joy in the beating of a thousand wings
    mysteriously knowing which way is warm;
joy in wagging tails and kids’ smiles
    and in this spunky old city;
joy in the taste of bread and wine,
    the smell of dawn,
    a touch,
    a song,
    a presence;
joy in having what I cannot live without –
    other people to hold and cry and laugh with;
joy in love,
    in you;
and that all at first and last
is grace.

(From: Guerrillas of Grace)

The Companioning of Leaves . . .

 

Poem: A Leaf Treader by Robert Frost

I have been treading on leaves all day until I am autumn tired
Lord knows all the color and form of leaves I have trodden on and mired
Perhaps I have put forth too much strength or been too fierce from fear...
I have safely trodden underfoot the leaves of another year
All summer long they were overhead more lifted up than I
To come to their final place in earth they had to pass me by
All summer long I thought I heard them whispering under their breath
And when they came it seemed with a will to carry me with them to death
They spoke to the fugitive in my heart as if it were leaf to leaf
They tapped at my eyelids and touched my lips with an invitation to grief
But it was no reason I had to go because they had to go...
Now UP MY KNEE to keep atop another year of snow.

 

TAKING UP THE CROSS Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:

Is 50:5-9a

Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

Jas 2:14-18

Mk 8:27-35

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34)

 

Some years ago, I was teaching a course on the Gospel of Mark. We got to the midpoint, chapter 8, and I was waxing eloquent on the portion we hear in today’s Gospel, reflecting on what taking up the cross might mean for us, in a context where literal crucifixion was not a danger. One of the students raised her hand insistently and I reluctantly stopped my lecture and called on her.  She declared this to be the most dangerous text in the Bible and wished we could rip it out. I had the presence of mind to ask her to explain further why she felt that way. She went on to describe how a majority of the women with whom she worked in a shelter for battered women and children had internalized this text in such a way that they thought that by enduring every kind of suffering, including physical and verbal abuse from their batterers, they were faithfully carrying their cross with Jesus. I was appalled at such a misunderstanding of the meaning of “taking up the cross.” I soon discovered that my student’s experience was replicated in vast numbers in most every corner of the globe.

 While such a spirituality of the cross has enabled many women to endure great suffering and to give meaning to it, Jesus’s invitation to take up one’s cross actually refers to a very different kind of suffering. He is speaking to his disciples about the suffering that is likely to befall a person for being his follower. Illness or disease is not “the cross” in the sense in which Jesus speaks of it in today’s gospel. There is nothing particularly Christian about this kind of suffering; it can happen to anyone. Nor is suffering that comes from abuse or injustice something that one should “take up.” Jesus confronted and tried to stop that kind of suffering whenever he encountered it. The cross consists rather in the negative consequences to which Jesus’s followers willingly expose themselves as the cost of being his disciples.

 Hand in hand with taking up the cross is denial of self. This does not refer to ascetic acts, like giving up something you enjoy during Lent. Such practices can feed a spirituality of denial of self; but when Jesus enjoins denial of self, he speaks of a spirituality by which one chooses daily to place the common good and Christ at the center, not one’s own desires. It is a free choice to live a life of ever-deepening self-surrender to love.

 Just as people who commit themselves to one another for life must constantly give of themselves out of love for the other, so the love into which Jesus invites disciples is a costly one that asks more and more of us. It is a freely chosen self-surrender in love, which implies that only those who have a healthy sense of self and the freedom to choose to surrender themselves can authentically deny themselves and take up their cross. The cross of which Jesus speaks is not a suffering imposed on persons who are downtrodden.

 The second reading today gives some concrete examples of this kind of costly love. If one encounters a brother or sister without adequate clothing or food or shelter, to deny oneself and take up the cross demands letting go of time and resources in self-surrender to the neediest ones. Simply talking about faith but not making it visible in concrete deeds of self-surrender is not authentic discipleship. Trying to skirt the cost of such love, as Peter did when he insisted to Jesus that the cross was not necessary, is an all too-human way of thinking. To think as God does results in godly action, a lifelong surrender to a free and costly love.

 

These reflections are adapted from Barbara E. Reid, Abiding Word. Sunday Reflections for Year B.  Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2011. Pp. 104-105.

 

Remembering . . .

 Lord, take me where You want me to go;

Let me meet who You want me to meet;

Tell me what You want me to say; and

Keep me out of your way.

father mychal judge - FDNY - died 9/11/01

Fr. Mychal Judge, the chaplain of the New York City Fire Dept., died in the process of giving the last rites to a fire fighter who perished in the tragedy at the World Trade Centre on Sept. 11, 2001. This prayer was found in his pocket.

A Seeker's Prayer . . .

 

A Prayer by St. Anselm of Canterbury

  O my God, teach my heart where and how to seek You,

where and how to find You.

You are my God and You are my all and I have never seen You.
You have made me and remade me,
You have bestowed on me all the good things I possess,
Still I do not know You.
I have not yet done that for which I was made.
Teach me to seek You.
I cannot seek You unless You teach me
or find You unless You show Yourself to me.
Let me seek You in my desire,
let me desire You in my seeking.
Let me find You by loving You,
let me love You when I find You.

Amen

---

A Franciscan Prayer for Peace

 

      Lord, make us instruments of your Peace.  In a world all too prone to violence and revenge, we commit ourselves to the Gospel values of mercy, justice, compassion, and love.

 

We will seek daily to promote forgiveness and healing in our hearts, our families, and our world. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; Where there is injury, let us cultivate peace.

 

Fear and distance prevent people from recognizing all as brothers and sisters; tensions lead to violence and mistrust; We will strive to honor the dignity that God places in each and every human person.

 

Grant that we may not seek to be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. Our failure to understand the other can create exclusion in all its negative forms – racism, marginalization of those who are poor, sick, the immigrant; it can also create situations of domination, occupation, oppression and war.

 

We pledge to seek the way of solidarity, to create hearts, homes, and communities where all people will experience inclusion, hospitality, and understanding.

For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned and in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

 

Let us Pray:

Lord God, create in us:

-the Capacity to hear and understand the voices of those who suffer from every form of violence, injustice, and dehumanization;

 

-the Openness to receive and honor people from other cultures, languages, religious traditions, and geographical regions;

 

-the Creativity to explore new ways of communication and dialogue through

      music, poetry, performing arts, and the mass media;

 

-the Audacity to undertake the building of communities of forgiveness, healing,

      and reconciliation.

To God who is above all and in all are the glory and the honor. Amen